Sunday, June 28, 2015

Indian Kiwis question our justice system - AGAIN!!

Arun Kumar, Sai Krishna Naidu, Navtej Singh and Hasmat Bhai Patel: What
is common here? These are Indians or people of Indian origin who were killed by
non-Indians and killers of all received very questionable sentences – what the White men
say, slap over the wrist with a wet bus ticket. With deafening silence from the
community, what is there to say there will not be repeat of this scenario - AGAIN!Where is the Indian media? We cannot blame the mainstream media to show much interest in this, as it has not yet colored enough to include our people- it is still very White. With a deafening silence from our Indian community leaders and representatives, we indeed are a
voiceless community. Heard anything from anybody by now? FIJI PUNDIT attempts
to fill that vacuum.

ARUN KUMAR - He was murdered in his store by two youths who failed to receive due sentence for their crimes -thanks to a wanting justice system and less than competent prosecution, and a very competent defense.

Initially I penned this article some seven (7) years ago upon death of yet another shopkeeper, Sai
Krishna Naidu in 2008, and questionable sentencing in Navtej Singh murder case
where only one was convicted of murder, and other accomplices were treated as
petty thieves. Recent murder, sentencing and diminished charges and one
acquittal in case of Arun Kumar, prompts me to revisit what I raised in 2008.
It appears nobody gives a two hoots about another Indian or ethnic death. It
seems our community has no voice, as we haven’t heard anything from our media,
representatives or community leaders until now –so many lapdogs, no watchdog.

Dignitaries and movers and shakers at Arun Kumar funeral on 14 June 2014 at Wiri: Front left, Former Families Commissioner and Labour List MP, Rajen Prasad, Te Atatu Labour MP Phil Twyford and Auckland Mayor Len Brown, among others. Despite initial show of sympathy, justice failed the Kumar family. Ethnic and Indian communities are questioning the apparent skewed justice system which seems to favour the criminals.

It appears, soon
Indians and ethnic people may have to question why they seem to get a
prosecution team which is very wanting, or seem to be mere legal apprentices, learning
the ropes of prosecution by taking ethnic murders through a court system, and
providing sloppy prosecution cases. Otherwise, why are they always caught napping
in ethnic cases?

Is justice blind?

Members of Indian
community in Auckland once again feel let down by the justice system which
appears to be giving a signal that the killers on Indians have easy exit from
the justice system. This I can vouch as a journalist who has covered three violent deaths of Indians in media over the
years, and now writing about the fourth one-that of Arun Kumar murder in
Henderson in 2014 and its questionable sentencing earlier this month.

Henderson had been
dubbed “the wild west” when a string of murders happened within a space of
three weeks. On the morning of June, 10, 2014, dairy –owner, Arun Kumar was
fatally stabbed by two youths from dysfunctional families, and this appeared to
have been the highlight of the case-not the murder but heir upbringing. A 14
year old and 13 year old were charged with murder, but while one was convicted
with reduced manslaughter charge, the ringleader, a 13 year old, walked scot
free, thanks to a sloppy prosecution. We are filled with shame and dismay when the
jury can be so easily swayed from the intent and culpability of the accused by
other factors, such as upbringing or personal circumstances. What becomes
laughable is that criminals who go to rob a shopkeeper armed with a knife are
themselves seeking defence of self-defence from the unarmed victim who lost his
life.

On
January, 25, 2008, Sai Krishna Naidu was stabbed to death in his father's
Manurewa dairy by a 16 year old Tiare
Towihi Nathan, who has been declared criminally insane, and is supposed to
spend a great deal of time in hospital. The question that I had posed during
Naidu’s death was who was responsible for releasing
such loose cannons in a civilized society? Should not the parents, community or
doctors who fail to diagnose such vice and threat to people be held responsible
for such dereliction of duties?

Then there was death of an elderly
grandfather, 85 year old Jasmat Bhai Patel who was assaulted by Auckland Unitec
student Bio O'Brien on April 8, 2009 in a road rage. He
was sentenced to three years, and should be out of jail shortly after one year
of actual serving time. There was
outrage at this sentence, and Hindu Elders Foundation, an organization
representing senior citizens raised its concerns. They asked, if the person
killed was Helen Clark’s or John Key’s father instead of the father of an
Indian green grocer, would the sentence have been any different?

In the much publicized case of
another Indian, Navtej Singh, who was apparently allowed to bleed to death
after being shot, while the police took their time to ensure they follow their book-rules.
Why care, it is just another migrant. To add insult to injury, the apparent
laxity in conviction of Navtej Singh’s killers had given wrong signals to the
Indian community. Despite past court precedents and case laws, the conviction,
or rather the lack of it, of the killers sends wrong signals, where only one
was convicted while other accomplices were treated as common thieves. The
sentencing went contrary to precedents.

Late Navtej Singh (right) and widow Harjinder Kaur - Navtej was not only allowed to bleed to death while police were following their procedures, but only one thug received murder conviction while the accomplices were treated as petty criminals, despite case law suggesting otherwise.

In a racially inspired murder of an Asian, Michael
Joy, a pizza delivery man on 13 September, 2003 in South Auckland by five
Pacific Islander youths, the learned judge, Justice C.J. Elias said:

“…those convicted of murder and manslaughter
were convicted as parties to culpable homicide in reliance on s66 (2) of the
Crimes Act 1961 through their participation in a common design to rob Mr Choy.”

The learned judge further added that where two or more persons form a common intention to carry out any
lawful activity and to assist each other in the crime, each of them is a party
to every offence committed by any one of them in the carrying out of that
common crime where it was known that such act could result in murder. In
case of Arun Kumar murder, when a thug goes armed with a knife, how he can get
a reduced manslaughter conviction and the ringleader accomplice goes free? Did
the judge err in this case? But who cares, they have no voice or political
clout.

In another gang related case involving six members of
JCB gang which attacked and injured members of PDBs in Otara, South Auckland on
22 October, 2005, Justice Winkelmann ruled that the verdict of guilty on all suggested
that the jury was satisfied that while one
was the principal offender, the remaining five were part of a criminal
enterprise and knew their action could result in serious injury or even worse.

For the August 2007 murder of
the three-year-old Nia Glassie in Rotorua by her relatives, the court convicted more than one relative
for murder and manslaughter for a group crime and was tough on the criminals.

The
question that the Sikh community, families and widow of murdered Navtej Singh, Harjinder Kaur wishes to be answered is what was different in this case,
what went wrong and why the other men escaped conviction for more serious
crime? What perhaps is difficult to perceive
is that while legally only one is the murderer, all the others who contributed
to Navtej’s death are classed as mere petty thieves! What laughable justice!

The trend is that ethnic and migrant
communities, tend to replace the Anglo Saxon (European) community as frontline
workers in dairies, liquor shops, taxi driving, security officers and similar
higher risk jobs. The likelihood of more of them killed by youths from
communities with deficient and wanting upbringing will continue. This is
exactly what happened seven years on to Arun Kumar, and once again the justice
system left itself wanting, and the criticism that came with other similar
cases. This is because the main instigator and accomplice to the murder, walks
free. What an inconsistent system of judgement and justice.

Has a blind justice been eluding Indian Community?

There is slang which says that law is an ass.
In this instance I will not dispute that.

[Thakur Ranjit Singh is a community worker from Auckland City, a
political commentator and the blogger at FIJI PUNDIT. He claims to fill the
vacuum where the mainstream and side stream (read Indian) media fails or is
incapable of acting like the Fourth Estate. Instead of being a watchdog, due to
self-interest and greed, Indian media appears to have now degenerated as lap
dogs of the establishment]